Текст книги "The Lies That Bind"

Автор книги: Kate Carlisle

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Cynthia and Tom, for instance, tended to bicker quietly over almost anything. The subject matter could be as trivial as the choice of covers for the books they were making. But I’d heard that argument with Layla and there was nothing trivial about it. Tom would have been wise to pay closer attention to his wife.

Gina and Whitney liked to talk, too, but at least they were entertaining. Both were pop-culture fanatics and proud of it. They told me what they’d seen on TMZ the previous night; then Gina showed everyone the GoFug-Yourself. com app on her phone. Kylie and Marianne both begged to see the latest red-carpet disasters.

Mitchell was a jovial man, cheerful and interested in the others’ lives. Dale, Bobby, and Jennifer, on the other hand, worked quietly and kept to themselves.

When Alice wasn’t texting her boyfriend, Stuart, or rushing off to the bathroom, she would absently rub her stomach while she worked. Fortunately, she was blessed with a self-deprecating sense of humor, so most of the students found her charming, despite her health issues.

When she walked back in from her latest bathroom run, I approached her and asked if she was okay.

She sighed and whispered, “Sometimes I think I was born without intestines. Food and liquid seem to travel directly from my stomach right down to my . . . well, you probably don’t need the specifics.”

“Ya think?” Gina whispered loudly, and everyone nearby laughed, including Alice.

“Maybe it’s your diet,” Whitney suggested gently. “My cousin is gluten-intolerant and he had to change his whole way of eating. But now he’s fine.”

“Oh, I’m getting tested for celiac disease tomorrow,” Alice said. “Stuart read about it and insisted I see my doctor.”

“Good idea,” Gina said.

Alice sighed. “Sorry to disrupt the class.”

I glanced around the room. Most everyone seemed to be concentrating on gluing their books properly. “I don’t think you’re disrupting anyone.”

“Yeah, Alice, don’t worry about it,” Whitney said, waving away her concern. “We just want you to be healthy.”

Alice blinked, clearly surprised. “You guys are so nice.”

Just then, I caught Tom Hardesty casting a disgruntled frown at Alice. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him make that face, but I only now realized it was directed at Alice. Since he was a board member, there was no way I could tell him to knock it off. But I didn’t like students being disrespectful of each other. I wondered if maybe Tom disliked Alice because she was such good friends with Layla.

It occurred to me that Cynthia Hardesty left the room almost as frequently as Alice did, in order to make and return phone calls. “Bidness,” she’d whisper loudly, and walk out.

Tom never glared contemptuously at his wife when she slipped out. Probably because he was scared to death that Cynthia would catch him and spank him. And that was a visual I never wanted to conjure up again.

It was almost ten thirty by the time everyone was finished for the night. Following Officer Ortiz’s orders, I put Mitchell in charge of making sure nobody left alone. As the students packed up their stuff, he went around assigning a buddy for everyone.

Then he turned to me. “What about you?”

I thought of Derek’s promise that he’d meet me after class. “I have to clean up a bit, and I’ve got someone waiting for me. I won’t leave alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. My friend should be here any minute, if he’s not already waiting in the gallery.”

“Well, we’re not leaving until he shows himself.”

“Fine, let’s go.” I grabbed my bag and locked the door, then followed Mitchell, Sylvia, Kylie, and Alice into the gallery. I glanced around for Derek, but he wasn’t there. My first thought was that he was in Layla’s office. I hoped not.

“Give me thirty seconds,” I told them, and ran down the hall to check. Layla’s office was empty, but Naomi was still working. She looked up when I knocked.

“Have you seen Derek Stone?” I asked.

“No,” she said irritably.

“Do you know who he is?”

“Yes,” she said pointedly.

“Okay, thanks. Good night.”

She muttered something I couldn’t hear and I wondered what had put her in such a foul mood. Then I remembered she worked for Layla and let it go.

Walking back to the gallery, I refused to show that I was hurt by the fact that Derek was nowhere to be found.

“Let’s go,” I said.

“Change of plans?” Mitchell asked.

“Yeah,” I said, and left it at that.

Maybe Derek and Layla had gone out for a quick drink. Or maybe he’d run off to guard Gunther. Yeah, Gunther. I preferred that scenario.

But I was still hurt. Again. I really needed to stop caring about that man.

Outside, the cold, foggy air hit me hard. I hunched my shoulders and huddled inside my down jacket as we all walked briskly to our cars. Alice’s was parked almost directly in front of BABA and we teased her for snatching the primo spot. The rest of us had all parked farther away because of the party.

As we hiked down the street, the heavy fog made it impossible to see Potrero Hill, but I knew it was there. I considered swinging over to Goat Hill Pizza to drown my sorrows in takeout and my mouth began to water at the thought of the goat cheese and pesto combo. Last year, before settling on my SOMA loft, I’d looked at houses on the Hill. Some parts were still in transition, as real estate agents liked to say when working-class areas were gentrifying. But I still loved the cozy neighborhood feel of the area, with its Victorian homes perched on the sloping hills and the cool shops and parks. Best of all, besides superlative pizza, the Hill was the home of Christopher’s Books, one of my favorite little bookstores in the city.

Another two blocks farther, we turned the corner. The street was dark and shrouded in fog that seemed to cling stubbornly to us as we walked through it. It was so thick, I didn’t notice the man standing in the shadows next to my car until I was almost in front of him.

“Hello, darling,” Derek said.

I jumped. He looked even more dangerous than usual. Maybe it was the fog.

“Are you all right, Brooklyn?” Mitchell asked.

“I’m fine,” I said, staring at Derek. “Good night, gang.”

“Good night,” a trio of voices answered, and I heard their footsteps recede into the night.

“You waited,” I said to Derek, tossing my bag into the backseat of my car and pulling my jacket even tighter around me.

“Of course I waited. I told you I would.”

“I thought you’d be inside.”

He scowled. “I tried waiting inside, but it became troublesome.”

I chewed my lip nervously. “Layla?”

“Yes. Come here.” He coaxed me into his arms.

“It’s been a long night,” I said, and covered up a yawn.

“And you’re tired.” He began to knead a pulse point at the junction of my shoulder and neck.

“Yes. I’m exhausted and just want to . . . oh.” I was pressed up against him and he was doing miraculous things to my muscles. I would melt if he continued much longer.

“We can go for a drink, or dinner,” he said.

“Oh, well, I could eat something.” Thoughts of pizza returned and I smiled.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered. He was well aware of my ability to eat heartily anytime, day or night.

But was I really his girl? Did I want to be? After all, he didn’t call, he didn’t write, and he didn’t want to see me again. And yet, he was here, and so was I. I certainly didn’t want to be his port in the storm, but if he kept rubbing my neck like that, I would say yes to just about anything he asked.

“Darling, I—” His cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket and he muttered, “Bloody hell.”

I took the opportunity to step back, away from temptation. “Better answer it.”

He stared at the screen, then looked at me, plainly conflicted. “I warned them not to call unless—”

“Answer it,” I said again, then tried to move farther away to allow him some privacy. But he swung his arm around my shoulders and dragged me up against his solid chest.

I could hear yelling on the other side of the call but couldn’t understand what the speaker was saying. Derek barely said a word but for a muttered expletive here and there. And with his clipped accent, even cursing sounded charming.

“I’ll be there in ten,” he said, then clicked off the call.

“New plan?” I said lightly.

“Yes,” he said, “I must go kill Gunther Schnaubel.”

“Hey, that’s okay,” I lied. “I should go feed my neighbors’ cats anyway.”

He laughed. I liked the sound of it.

I tried to convince myself that this was a good thing. I’d been seconds away from going to dinner with him. From there, I might’ve agreed to spend the night. Only a couple of hours ago, I’d been furious. Now I was ready to throw my panties in the wind, for heaven’s sake. Things were getting serious and complicated, fast. For me, anyway.

I still didn’t understand his relationship with Layla and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. More important, I didn’t know what to expect by getting involved with him, if anything. And now I wouldn’t have the chance to talk to him about it. Not tonight, anyway.

So it was just as well that he’d received that phone call. It would give me some space to think about things. I needed to figure out exactly what I was getting my very vulnerable heart into.

He leaned his forehead against mine. “Tomorrow night, Brooklyn. I’ll be here. We’ll go to dinner and we’ll talk. And I promise you, there will be no more interruptions.”

“Okay,” I whispered, grateful for the short respite. Twenty-four hours was plenty of time to think about stepping off a cliff, wasn’t it?

Chapter 6

Wednesday night, I walked the periphery of the classroom. Earlier, my students had insisted on grilling me about why I happened to be wearing a cute dress when I normally wore jeans. I wasn’t about to tell them I had a date with the hottest secret agent in the Western Hemisphere, but they guessed anyway. Well, about the date part. Who would guess he was a secret agent? Well, he wasn’t really. Not anymore. Anyway, once my upcoming date was out in the open, I had to endure all their opinions and warnings and teasing. Then Alice mentioned that she’d seen my companion up close last night and oh, he was dreamy.

Dreamy. Who said that anymore?

Finally, though, they all settled down enough to concentrate on yet another of my fascinating lectures, this one on wood-block presses. I’d already given every student a small wood press to work with. The classroom had enough for everyone, thanks to Marky May, who had made them all himself.

Marky’s presses were an ingeniously simple pattern, essentially two fifteen-inch blocks of smooth hardwood held together by two long wood screws, one on each end.

“To press your pages together, you place your textblock between the pieces of wood, spine side up. Then twirl the wing nuts to tighten until the textblock is held firmly. Could it be easier?”

I pointed out that the spine should stick up a little higher than the press itself so glue wouldn’t drip onto the wood. “And make sure the linen tapes aren’t pressed between the pages and the wood. They should lie on top. We don’t want to get glue on any part of the tapes except where they’re already sewn to the signatures.”

“There you go, speaking in tongues again,” Mitchell said, shaking his head in confusion.

“Sorry,” I said, chuckling as I studied everyone’s pressed pages. “Okay, everybody, look at Alice’s press. See how the tapes are strewn over the block? That’s what yours should look like.”

“Teacher’s pet,” Gina teased, and they laughed.

Alice laughed along with them, then frowned as she rubbed her stomach.

“I was just kidding,” Gina said, her forehead creasing in concern.

“No worries,” Alice said, trying to wave away the pain. “It’s just me and my nerves.”

Whitney wiggled her eyebrows. “The good news is, when you rub your stomach like that, I’m blinded by your gorgeous diamond ring.”

Alice held her hand up to the light and stared fondly at the ring. “It is pretty, isn’t it? Stuart is so sweet.”

“You’re very lucky to have a nice guy,” Whitney said. “You have no idea what’s out there these days.”

“Slim pickings,” Gina agreed.

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Mitchell muttered.

Everyone laughed, then settled back to work.

“I could make these wood presses for the kids taking our classes,” Marianne the librarian marveled, flicking her wing nuts. On the first night she’d told us that she planned to take what she learned here and offer book craft classes for kids at her library.

“That’s way too much labor,” said Jennifer, who worked at the same library. “And the little kids won’t be able to operate something like this.”

“Are you kidding?” Gina said. “If I can do it, anyone can.”

“It’s true,” Whitney said, elbowing her friend. “She’s all thumbs and press-on nails.”

I pulled a large binder clip off my stack of notes and held it up. “Two of these will hold a book in place almost as securely as a wood press.”

Jennifer’s eyes lit up. “Binder clips. How clever. Now that’s more my speed.”

Once they all had their signature pages firmly held inside the presses, I demonstrated how to apply the thin layers of PVA glue to the text spine.

“Dip the brush halfway into the glue, then swipe it liberally across the spine edges. You want to soak the threads completely. Be sure to daub the wet brush carefully between the pages so that everything is covered in glue.”

I wandered around the room, watching them apply thin layers of adhesive to the compressed textblock.

“Something’s wrong with mine,” Mitchell said, scratching his head as he stared at his project.

“What happened?” I asked, walking around the table.

“I think I overglued.”

“Wow, you sure did.” I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Glue was dripping down the side of the wood press and his linen tabs were drenched as well.

“I know you’re laughing with me,” he muttered.

“Absolutely,” I said, grabbing a wet wipe. “Here, use this to wipe off the wood.”

“You said a liberal application.”

“I did,” I said, shaking my head at the mess. “I also said to do it carefully. But I’ll take the blame for this one.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said.

“We can fix this,” I said, raising my voice so the entire group would pay attention. “For the linen tabs, take a cotton swab dipped in acetone and wipe the linen carefully.”

I demonstrated. “These tabs should remain dry and loose because they’ll eventually be used to hold the spine to the covers. The last thing we do is glue them between the cover board and the pastedown.”

Mitchell groaned at my incomprehensible explanation.

“Okay,” I said, with a laugh. “Instead of trying to explain it, let me find an example to show you what I mean.”

I grabbed two of my sample journals from the table at the front of the room and passed them around the table. The three tabs were clearly outlined beneath the pastedown.

“Ah,” Mitchell said, peering at the inside cover. “I think I get it now.”

“Good.” I smiled and gave the book to Dale, who sat next to Mitchell. “Pass those journals around so everyone can get an idea of what the tabs are used for. Thanks.”

I spent a quiet half hour working alone in the classroom while everyone took a dinner break. I munched on malted-milk balls and string cheese as I prepared another textblock for demonstration purposes.

Once the demo was set up, I did a little paperwork and balanced my checkbook, adding in the check I’d deposited that morning from Holyroodhouse Palace. It had been sent along with another children’s book that Philip Pickering-Jones wanted me to restore.

While I was in Edinburgh, Derek had taken me to the palace, where Pickering-Jones, personal secretary to the British princes, gave me a shabby old book that belonged to one of the prince’s girlfriends. He wanted it restored for her as a gift.

I knew I’d received the job only because I’d been in the right place at the right time. With the right British commander, of course. So I was shocked and pleased and honored that they’d sent me more work.

The book I’d received today was Mrs. Overtheway’s Remembrances by the same beloved British author of the first book, Juliana Horatia Ewing. Pickering-Jones asked that it be restored in the same style as the first, making a matched set. Coincidentally, the two books were illustrated by George Cruikshank, the same man who did the Oliver Twist I restored for Layla.

“Small world,” I murmured.

As students began to shuffle back into the room, I put my personal stuff away and pulled out my bookbinders hammer.

“It’s hammer time,” I announced, and everyone groaned. “Hey, these are the jokes, people.”

Marianne raised her hand. “I hate to interrupt the jokes, but could you show me that weaver’s knot again?”

“Fine, ruin my timing,” I groused good-naturedly.

She wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, but I still don’t get the kinky part.”

There were a few chuckles as I cut a length of thirty-gauge linen thread from the spool. I ran the thread through my fingers several times, reminding them that it was an important step to take the twist out and get rid of any sizing or wax the manufacturer had applied to the thread. I reached for the long sewing needle and was about to show them how to kink the thread in order to make a knot when someone shouted out in the hall.

“Buzz off!”

“No! Don’t go in there.”

The classroom door flew open and Minka stormed in, followed closely by Layla and Naomi. Minka walked right up and shoved me. I fell back against the counter, hitting my hip bone.

“Hey!” I cried. Even knowing Minka for as long as I had, she’d caught me by surprise again.

“I suppose you think I owe you my life or something,” she said belligerently.

“Nope. You don’t owe me anything.” I sidestepped her and backed away. I’d vowed never to be within arm’s length of Minka again. She had a bad habit of belting me when I wasn’t paying attention. On the other hand, with her head wrapped in a thick white gauze bandage, she didn’t seem half as threatening as usual.

“Liar.”

“I mean it,” I said, balancing on the balls of my feet, ready to spring if she made a move. “If I could do it over again, I would’ve left you to rot.”

“You bitch,” she snarled.

“Back atcha. Now get out of my classroom.”

“Just because you made a stupid phone call doesn’t mean you’re some kind of savior.”

“I agree.” I gestured toward my students, who watched with avid interest. “Now, I have a class to run, so amscray, itchbay.”

“Because you’re not,” she continued, as though I hadn’t said anything.

“I know. I heard you.” That’s when I noticed Naomi wringing her hands. Even Layla looked nervous. Fascinating. But not much help. To Minka, I said, “What part of hasta la vista don’t you understand?”

Her scowl would’ve been scary if not for her tendency to spit when she spoke. “I can see the smug satisfaction in your eyes.”

“Can you?”

“Yes, and it sickens me.”

“Minka,” Naomi said, tentatively reaching for Minka’s arm, “you should thank God that Brooklyn found you in time.”

“Oh, really?” Minka shrugged Naomi’s hand away as her voice grew louder and more shrill. “So she can rub my nose in it for the rest of my life?”

A few of my students cringed as she shrieked the word life. She sounded like a squealing rat, but I could sympathize. The thought that I’d saved her life made me just as queasy.

“But you could’ve died,” Naomi said. I appreciated her attempts to be civilized, but she didn’t know who she was dealing with.

“Oh, get real,” Minka said to Naomi. “It was just a friggin’ bump on the head.”

“Is that so?” Naomi said, irritated now. “I heard you were still out cold until late this morning.”

Minka rolled her eyes, then grimaced in pain from the effort. “Never mind.”

“You probably shouldn’t be here,” Naomi said. “I’ll bet your doctor doesn’t even know you left the hospital.”

Minka’s nostrils flared but she said nothing. Naomi folded her arms in triumph.

“We’re just glad you’re back in fighting form, sweetie,” Layla crooned, touching Minka’s shoulder. “Now, don’t you have your own class to teach?”

Why did Layla treat her so nicely? Professional courtesy among snakes, maybe?

Minka glared at me. I gazed back at her with what I hoped was a look of blasé indifference, though I wanted more than anything to stab her with my long, sharp sewing needle.

Finally, she shook her head in fury, stomped her foot like the frustrated cow that she was, then whipped around and clomped out. Layla rushed after her and wrapped her arm around Minka’s shoulder. Naomi exhaled loudly, shot me a fulminating look, and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. So much for gratitude.

“Wow, that was so rude,” Alice said, shocked. She turned and studied my face. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t she the girl who was knocked out in the hall the other night?” Gina asked.

“Yes, she’s the one,” Whitney said, then grimaced. “I remember that hair.”

“What an ingrate,” Marianne said, righteously indignant on my behalf. “She could’ve died if Brooklyn hadn’t found her.”

“What’s wrong with her?” quiet Jennifer asked.

“She’s just a royal bee-yotch,” Whitney said, and the others agreed.

I smiled gratefully. I was growing more fond of my students every day. “So, where were we?”

“It’s hammer time?” Mitchell said, causing more groans and a few laughs.

“Right. Everyone find their hammer in their tool packet.” While they went through their packets, I took a minute to catch my breath. Minka was a menace to my health.

“Okay, everyone ready?” I asked, holding up my favorite tool. I’d purchased the new bookbinders hammer when I’d returned from Edinburgh last month. My old favorite hammer, a gift from my mentor, had been stolen and used as a murder weapon.

It was a long story, and I tried not to think about it as I prepared to demonstrate the proper way of rounding the spine of the textblock.

I had them remove their glued pages from the wood presses and test the glue.

“The adhesive should still be slightly tacky,” I said, holding up my demo and touching the spine.

“The reason we hammer the spine is to round it out. A flat spine won’t allow the book to lie nicely. You want to round it slightly. And you do it by pounding it with a hammer.”

“Fun,” said Kylie.

I demonstrated by holding up two different books I’d made. “If you keep the spine flat as it is now, the book will plop one way or another when you open it. See? But a rounded spine will allow the book to fan open.”

“Cool,” Jennifer whispered.

“Now, hammering works best if you place the textblock flat on the table with the spine near the table’s edge.” I used the end of the worktable to demonstrate.

“I’m going to hurt myself, aren’t I?” Gina whispered to Whitney.

I smiled at her. “No, you won’t. These hammers are lighter and shorter than a regular carpenter’s hammer, and the head is wider. That’s because you don’t need to apply as much pressure to this as you would to a nail to pound it into a wall. Your pressure to the book is more of a smack than a smash.”

“Smack, don’t smash,” Gina muttered.

“You take the hammer and start pounding the spine with a pushing motion,” I said, demonstrating. “You’re effectively nudging the layers out to form a curved surface.”

“I like it,” Kylie said, clobbering the pages with her hammer. “I’m pretending it’s my husband.”

“This is fun,” Gina said, pounding like mad on her book. “I’m so fierce.”

“Easy,” I cautioned. “Push, don’t pummel.”

“Oops,” she said, and lightened the pressure of her thrusts.

“Now, turn the textblock over and do the same thing from the back side so it evens out. Do this several times, and you’ll see the spine becoming rounded.” I held mine up for everyone’s scrutiny.

“As soon as you have the desired curve, place it back into the wood press and apply another thin layer of glue. That way, it’ll stay rounded for good.”

A twittering sound chirped. Cynthia grabbed her purse and found her cell. She checked the screen and looked at me. “It’s bidness. Can I take a quick break?”

“Sure,” I said. “Everyone knows what they need to do now, so proceed at your own pace and take a break if you need to. I’ll walk around and check your work or answer questions if you have any.”

For the next ten minutes, everyone worked quietly. Some people left the room, others came back in. I didn’t pay much attention to the comings and goings as I stopped to ask Marianne and Jennifer about their library arts-and-crafts program. Then I made another pass around the table and paused at Mitchell’s place.

“How’m I doing, boss?” he asked, grinning as he held up his glue brush.

“Much better,” I said.

“Thanks,” he said. “But I—”

A loud blast interrupted him.

Gina screamed and Whitney pulled her under the table.

“Oh, my God,” Kylie cried.

“Calm down!” I shouted. “It’s probably nothing.”

But I knew that sound. I’d heard it more than once before.

“Everyone stay here.” I ran from the room, closing the door behind me. No one was in the hall. I tiptoed to the entry and peeked around the corner. The gallery was empty.

“I’m right behind you,” Mitchell said evenly. “That was a gunshot.”

“I know.” I turned and scowled. “That’s why I told everyone to stay in the room.”

“Oh, right. Like I’m going to wait in there while you’re out here getting yourself killed.”

“Men,” I muttered.

“Yeah, we suck,” he growled. “Come on.”

We crossed the gallery to the north hall. I could see that Layla’s office door was open. Light poured into the hall, illuminating a lifeless lump on the carpet.

“Oh, crap,” I whispered. Déjà vu, anyone? I moved closer, then stopped abruptly. Mitchell stopped directly behind me.

It was Layla. Blood trickled from a hole at the center of her chest, leaving a bright red stain in the middle of her stretchy white top.

My head began to swim at the sight of all that blood and spandex. I looked away from the bullet hole, straight into Layla’s dull green eyes. She stared right back at me, but there was only emptiness.

Layla Fontaine was dead.